Texas shooting suspect wore shirt with Iranian flag design, says source
Officers in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used both a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.
The gunman who killed two people at a bar in Texas in a mass shooting being investigated by the FBI as a potential act of terrorism was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah”, and another shirt with an Iranian flag design, a law enforcement official said.
The shooting, which also left 14 wounded, erupted a day after the United States launched an attack on Iran with Israel that killed the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The gunman was identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.
He first entered the US in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa and became a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying a US citizen, according to the DHS.
He became a naturalised US citizen in 2013, the department said.
Diagne was originally from Senegal, according to multiple people briefed on the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Officers in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used both a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.
The suspect drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting a pistol out the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, according to Austin police chief Lisa Davis.
The gunman then parked the vehicle, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking in the area before officers who rushed to the crossroads shot him, Ms Davis said.
Three of those injured were in a critical condition on Sunday morning, police said.
Authorities found “indicators” on the gunman and in his vehicle leading the FBI to look into the possibility of terrorism, Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said.
“It’s still too early to make a determination on that,” the agent said on Sunday morning.
The White House said US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting.
Texas governor Greg Abbott warned that the state would respond aggressively to anyone trying to “use the current conflict in the Middle East to threaten Texas”.
“We will not be intimidated, and we will not be terrorised,” he said in a statement.
The shooting happened outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden just before 2am along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few miles from the University of Texas.
The entertainment district has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers were able to confront the gunman within a minute of the first call for help, Ms Davis said.
Austin mayor Kirk Watson praised the fast response by police and rescuers.
“They definitely saved lives,” he said.
